Johnny Ward Hands

I was struck by this pair of hands at the UMMA shop. The shop is small and sophisticated; there's a lot to look at, but not too many places to go. I kept returning to the hands. Their weight is satisfying. The variation of the finish is great: and like most things that border on ugliness, without actually being so -- it is compelling. Turn the hands in your hands: what mottled spot is your favorite? So this heavy piece of cast concrete was bundled in bubble wrap and tucked into my backpack for the trek back to the hidden parking spot.

I don't really know where they belong in my house. They look at home in the ivy, but I don't tend to anything enough outside to consign statuary to it.

I asked Javier if he had seen my hands. "Yeah, they're kind of creepy: Oh. Why are there hands coming out of the dining room table? What's the deal with that?"

The gallery shop attendant didn't have any artist business cards, but the artist is one Seattle-based Johnny Ward. He was a featured Etsy seller back in October 2010 and turns out he was the creator of these Siamese mice, which I wanted a long time ago, but suspected I would not be satisfied with just one. The pair of hands, however, hold their own,  and anything dropped their way... 

      "Often the hands will solve a mystery that the intellect has struggled with in vain."
                                                                  - Carl Jung
                                         
                                               “The burned hand teaches best.”
                                                                 - J.R.R. Tolkien